On the occasion of the 450 year celebration of the foundation of the Academy of the Arts of Drawing and of the death of Michelangelo Buonarroti (February 18, 1564), Haltadefinizione shall publish the Holy Family painting with John the Baptist, in high definition. This is an incredibly important work of art, being the only panel painting that is unquestionably ascribable to this great artist. Better known as Doni Tondo, it adds up to the high definition image gallery which internet users can visit for free. This publication is even more relevant as the image includes the extraordinary original frame, which had probably been designed by Michelangelo himself. The panel - perhaps made on the occasion of the wedding between Angelo Doni and Maddalena Strozzi - plays an essential role in art history, because it presents the three main characters as sculptural group, which was a brand new idea. Also original is the twisted bust of Virgin Mary who turns towards the Child with a movement that sets the foundations for the birth of Mannerism.

The small town of Aubusson, at the very heart of France, has always been one of the most important centres of tapestry production. This ancient art, which has been included in UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, is now the subject of an ambitious cultural rediscovery and valorisation project developed jointly by Haltadefinizione and Cité Internationale de la tapisserie et de l'art tiseé.Thanks to this project, the precious tapestry by Antoine Jorrand, "La Fée des bois" (1909, 352x242 cm), part of the Museum collection, has now been digitised in ultra-high-definition. The reproduction, at a resolution of more than 1600 ppi, will allow the researchers of the Aubusson Museum to carry out detailed studies being able to magnify individual threads and thereby analyse the weaving technique used to create this masterpiece.

Along with Christmas wishes, Haltadefinizione launches an important tradition, and offers its followers a “digital” Christmas present: as of today you will find online the high-definition image of one of the most mysterious paintings by Leonardo, the Adoration of the Magi. The work, was owned by the powerful Medici family already in 1670, and is kept at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence next to the very famous Annunciation and the Baptism of Jesus painted together with Andrea del Verrocchio. The painting, with a revolutionary composition structure, is unfinished, and shows different finishing levels in the various areas: in fact, it remained a sketch until 1482 after Leonardo left towards Milan. Thanks to the high-definition, it is possible to observe the creative process used by the artist starting from the first execution made by a drawing. This is an extraordinary opportunity. Enjoy it and Merry Christmas to everyone.

The details of Sandro Botticelli’s masterpiece Primavera and the choreographies of the ballet “Romeo and Juliet” put on stage by Maribor, Slovenia’s National Theatre, harmoniously blend together in a truly magic atmosphere.The tragic and troubled love story between the two young lovers is set against some of the most beautiful details of the painting on display in the Uffizi, which are magnified and projected behind the dancers during the performance.

The new version of the app devoted to the Shroud of Turin, allowing to read all contents in German too, is now available in the App Store. Just a few weeks after the latest update, which introduced some important new features like the possibility to explore the image in full screen or the interactive navigator, Haltadefinizione is now releasing a new upgrade which, besides the German language, contains a special revision of the text in Spanish with the addition of comments to the Bible.

Over the next few months “Sindone 2.0”, which has already been downloaded by more than 80,000 users in 156 countries all over the world, will be available in more languages, that will join the current 5 ones (Italian, English, Spanish, Portuguese, German).

For the first time after 200 years the Allegories of Earth, Air, Water and Fire painted by Jan Brueghel will again be all on display at the picture gallery Pinacoteca Ambrosiana in Milan. The 1796 art requisitions under Napoleon had indeed scattered the four paintings, which are currently permanently on display at the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana (Water and Fire) and the Musée du Louvre (Earth and Air).

In the first week users of 50 countries have downloaded the free version of the Shroud 2.0 application

During the first week after its launch a good 75 thousand users downloaded the Shroud 2.0 App on their iPad and iPhone devices. It's the first official application dedicated to the Holy Linen. The downloads were made from 50 countries around the world, among which the United States with 30 thousand requests, followed by Italy with 20 thousand, stand out. However, also the figures reported by Spanish speaking countries, United Kingdom and even a non Christian country such as Japan, are significant. During several days the application has been at the top of the world ranking for the Education category for number of downloads.